Shin Soukoku Soulmate AU
by Saigecraze003
Summary: When the gifted turn 18, the name of their soulmate's ability appears on their wrist. Ranpo's ultra deduction counts as an ability in this au. Some scenes from the original anime were edited for the story. Contains AtsushixAkutagawa, DazaixChuuya, RanpoxPoe, and anything else I decide to add.
1. Chapter 1

Shin Soukoku Soulmate AU ~ Chapter 1

The silver haired boy looked down at his hand, which was delicately intertwined with that of the paler boy next to him. Thinking back, he never would have expected to be here like this, but as he traced the word imprinted on his wrist with his free hand, he couldn't help but smile.

Atsushi sat up and stretched his arms. Despite having slept outside on a bench, he was surprisingly cheery and well rested. Most likely since today was his eighteenth birthday. Something he didn't notice until later that day, was a word printed onto his right wrist. Atsushi rubbed at it and even washed his arm off in the nearby river, but it didn't smudge, or fade in the slightest. He didn't even know what the word meant.

"Rashomon." He read, eyebrows furrowed.

"Hey Atsushi, how old did you say you were again?" Dazai asked him rather loudly as he walked into the door of the office.

"Um 18. Why?" Dazai had a glimmer in his eye. Instead of answering, Dazai grabbed Atsushi's arm and moved his sleeve to reveal his wrist.

"Rashomon. Hmm." Atsushi watched him with a look of both curiosity and confusion.

"What does this mean Dazai? It's been there since my birthday, but I have no idea what it is." Dazai let go of Atsushi's hand and looked at him deadpan.

"Your soulmate." To say the least, Atsushi looked even more confused than before, which Dazai found to be very funny.

"Don't you know silly Atsushi, when the gifted turn eighteen, the name of their soulmate's ability is shown on their wrist."

It would be an understatement to say Atsushi thought about the soulmate thing. As soon as he met a gifted with the ability called Rashomon, he'd have met his soulmate. But being Atsushi, that raised all sorts of questions, like what they live super far away and he never meets them? Or what if he does meet them but their ability never comes up in conversation? Atsushi was going to give himself a headache from all these questions.

"Hey Atsushi, we have a job, and you're coming with us." Atsushi looked up to see Tanizaki, Naomi, and a woman he'd never met, with blonde hair going down to her shoulders, and deep brown eyes. He had gotten up to follow them, but Kunikida stopped him, handing him a small photograph of a young man, with black hair dyed white at the ends. He had a long black coat on that reached just above his ankles.

"This man is very dangerous. Try to avoid him best you can, and if you ever encounter him, run." Atsushi nodded.

"What's his name?"

"Akutagawa."

"Sir, I have them here as planned." The woman's voice came clearly through the phone.

"Excellent, I'll be there in five minutes. Thank you Higuchi." The phone beeped, and the black-haired man slipped in neatly into the pocket of his long coat. He glanced at his left wrist, at the words that have been there for two years now.

"Beast Beneath the Moonlight." He never dared to let his mind wander to thoughts about love, or any sort or attachment. He thought he'd never meet his soulmate, and initially, he was okay with that.

Atsushi heard a faint cough at the other end of the hallway, flushed out by his own cry upon seeing Tanizaki collapse. He looked up frantically at the attacker, and his blood ran cold. The fabric like weapon receded back into the man's coat.

"Akutagawa." Atsushi spoke as confident as possible, despite being scared half to death knowing that this man was capable of so much more than he knew. He reached for one of Higuchi's abandoned guns. He aimed it shakily at Akutagawa.

"How foolish of you. Special ability, Rashomon!" Atsushi froze, did he hear that right? No, it couldn't possibly be... the black mass returned from Akutagawa's coat, zipping past Atsushi, creating a large indent on the ground next to him. Atsushi didn't know what do, he was completely stuck to the ground, his body weighing down on him. Rashomon lurched toward him once more, and Atsushi covered his face. But Rashomon never collided with Atsushi, in fact, when the boy opened his eyes, he found that his arms had become large tiger claws, which were pushing back against Akutagawa. Atsushi wasted no time in pouncing at Akutagawa, and Rashomon was quick to head back toward him. But they were both stopped.

"That's enough out of you two." As soon as Dazai's hand collided with the two of them, their abilities were nullified, causing Atsushi to fall once again to the ground.

"Are you alright Atsushi?" No. He was most definitely not okay. His soulmate just tried to kill him! Not the best start in a relationship.

"Dazai." Akutagawa spoke with a snap in his voice.

"Oh, hello Akutagawa, surely has been a long time." Dazai never turned to face the younger man talking to him. Atsushi was stunned, they knew each other?

"Dazai, if you knew Akutagawa, that means you knew his ability. Why didn't you tell me that?" Atsushi crossed his arms as he stared Dazai down.

"Calm down Atsushi. I figured you'd find out soon anyway, so I thought it would be more interesting for you to figure out this way." Atsushi didn't know what he expected, but it certainly wasn't this.

"My soulmate wants me dead Dazai, this isn't funny."


	2. Chapter 2

Shin Soukoku Soulmate AU ~ Chapter 2

Akutagawa has never seen love. Sure he'd witnessed his fair share of couples on the streets, or families with their children, or even heard those famous three

words as two young people sat in a cafe together. If you were to ask, most people would describe love in something of that manner. But Akutagawa saw all of this as

background noise, just another thing he had to avoid. Akutagawa thought the whole idea of love was ridiculous. You get so attached to someone, it creates weakness,

makes it easier for someone to have control over you. So the fact that the world just chose someone that Akutagawa was expected to love, it angered him beyond belief.

But he had never really thought much about it. He was twenty, meaning his soulmate has been determined for two years already, and there was no sign of meeting them.

So he pushed it to the back of his mind. But now that he knows who his soulmate is, the thought has been messing with his head for days since the encounter.

"Sir, we have to go." Akutagawa shook his head. Once again he was caught thinking.

"Of course. Thank you Higuchi." He got up to follow her. She would often glance back at him, he seemed to be out of it all the time now, like he no longer

cared about his duty as a Port Mafia member.

"Sir, I'm sorry to ask, but are you alright? You've been acting rather strange since the encounter with Dazai and the weretiger." He flinched.

"I'm fine, just keep walking." The rest of the trip was in silence. He usually enjoyed the late night missions, but now he longed for when he could return

home to his familiar silence.

* * *

Atsushi lay awake in bed, he just couldn't fall asleep. His thoughts kept roaming to Akutagawa. How his soulmate wanted him dead, was he destined to be

unhappy his whole life? Was this some kind of curse or karma? He hasn't done anything wrong though. Not that he could remember.

"Atsushiiii?" A knock at the door. He groaned. Only one idiot would be awake this late to bother him.

"What do you want Dazai?" Atsushi tried to sound as if he was just woken up.

"Can I come in?" Atushi knew there was no getting out of it when Dazai wanted something.

"Sure." The door opened painfully slow and Dazai peeked his head in.

"Hi Atsushi." Atsushi stared him down.

"It's like three in the morning what are you doing?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to know more about your soulmate?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the last word. Atsushi overlooked that. Of course he did.

"Sure Dazai, honestly I can't fall asleep anyway." Dazai smiled brightly and sat across from Atsushi on the bed.

"Well you know that I used to be in the Port Mafia correct?" Atsushi nodded.

"Well Akutagawa was my subordinate. I taught him everything he knows." Dazai said, head held high in pride. Atsushi rolled his eyes at him.

"Okay, so now he wants me dead. What's with that?" Dazai slumped back down.

"Atsushi, he's still with the Port Mafia, so naturally he'd be our enemy now. He probably has orders to kill you." Atsushi was shocked that he could say that

without a second thought.

"Dazai. This man is supposed to be my soulmate. How am I supposed to manage that?" Dazai simply shrugged.

"That's for the two of you to figure out on your own. I can't mess with it." Atsushi was a little thrown off with how Dazai was acting. Usually he'd be trying

to mess with the system at any possible point. But now he seemed so... serious.

"What about you?" Atsushi asked curiously.

"What about me?" Dazai shifted from where he sat, a habit of nerves he's had for as long as he could remember.

"You're older than me. So you've had your soulmate for a while already. Who is it? Do I know them?" Atsushi got more excited the more he questioned.

"It's pretty late. I think you should get some sleep Atsushi. Maybe it will help with your situation." Dazai smiled before getting up and ignoring a protesting

Atsushi as he left the room. He wouldn't be able to hide it forever, he knew that. He looked at his arms, how his wrists were always covered, concealing his past,

while at the same time being a terrible reminder.

Atsushi eventually gave up on calling after Dazai, he'd ask him in the morning, it was pretty late. So he decided to try sleeping again, laying down and

burying himself in the blanket.

* * *

"Flawless." Dazai read. What a nice ability name. It sounded familiar somehow.

"Oh hey Dazai, did you get your soulmate yet? I know today is your eighteenth birthday." Oda had approached him in their meeting place at the bar. Dazai's eyes

lit up.

"Oda, what's the name of your ability again?" Dazai studied his friend's face.

"Flawless. Why?" Dazai smiled warmly and showed Oda his wrist.

"So your ability name is no longer human? I'd been embarrassed that I didn't know so I never asked." Oda hugged him and laughed.

"It is. We're soulmates Oda." The two laughed at each other's cheesiness. Two mafia members, destined to be together.

* * *

Dazai smiled to himself in the dark of his room. It wasn't like his usual smiles though. He used to be so happy and carefree, even at 18. His smile faded as

the memories continued, only a year later.

"Odasaku, what should I do?" Dazai held onto Oda, his eyes threatening to spill tears as he choked out his words.

"Be on the side that saves people. If neither good or evil means anything to you, then become a good man. That will at least make your world a bit more

beautiful." Oda's words were quiet, his last breaths coming shallowly.

"How could you know that?" Dazai pressed further.

"Because... I know you better than anyone." Oda breathed out as his hand fell from Dazai's head, pulling off the bandages over his eye.

* * *

Dazai unwrapped the bandage on his right wrist, looking at the blank spot there, tracing over the veins and picturing the word "flawless" still showing

brightly the way it used to. The day when it had fully disappeared was one of the worst days he ever had. Every day since Oda died, the word would fade a little bit

more. But one day, about two weeks after, Dazai woke up to find the word completely gone from his wrist. He had cried, really let it out, for the first time in years.

He continued to wear his bandages on his arms, but now he pulled them over his wrists so he would never have to look at them again.


End file.
